40: Growing Unrest in the Red Sea

Since October 2023, Houthi militants have deployed missile and drone attacks in Yemen against maritime targets in the Red Sea — creating security concerns along shipping routes in one of the world’s busiest chokepoints. As a result, the world is experiencing another major disruption to global supply chains as vessels have been rerouted around Africa.  Here, we assess the security threat in the Red Sea in light of evolving regional geopolitical shifts arising from the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as well as the thawing of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Discussants: Jim Krane, Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies and co-director of the Middle East Energy Roundtable (MEER) initiative at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Ambassador David M. Satterfield, US Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues and Director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Baker Fellow at the institute's Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East.  Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Baker Fellow at the institute's Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East. This conversation was recorded on February 13, 2024.